The national economy continues to improve, but concerns about Texas families’ participation in that recovery persist.

Nearly half of all Texas households are in a state of financial insecurity, according to a new report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), a national nonprofit policy group based in Washington, D.C.

According to the CFED, 49.8 percent of Texas households have little or no savings to cover emergencies. That’s a slight increase over the 49.5 percent of Texas households who faced similar challenges and uncertainties a year ago.

The CFED report also finds that lawmakers in the state have done little to implement policies which would improve the financial security of Texans.

CFED defines these financially insecure families as “liquid asset poor” in its 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, meaning those residents lack adequate savings to cover basic expenses at the federal poverty level for even three months in the event of an emergency such as a job loss or health crisis.

Included among Texas’ “liquid asset poor” population are a majority of individuals who live below the official income poverty line of $23,550 for a family of four, as well as many who would consider themselves middle class, according to CFED officials.

The Scorecard provides rankings for the 50 states and District of Columbia on both the ability of residents to achieve financial security and, for the first time, policies designed to help them get there. On both measures, Texas ranks near the bottom, with an outcomes ranking of 37 and an overall policy ranking of 41.

“C” in Businesses & Jobs, with nearly 28 percent of its jobs considered low wage;

“C” in Education, ranking 51st for the number of adults with a high school degree and 32nd for the number of adults with a four-year college degree.

“Despite steady job growth and low unemployment rates, many Texas residents are still struggling with persistent financial insecurity and have difficulty moving up the economic ladder,” says RAISE Texas’ Tim Morstad. “The data from the 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard should motivate state and local policymakers to build on an emerging consensus to improve household financial security.”

RAISE Texas is a statewide network of non-profit organizations, for-profit corporations and public institutions focused on asset-building activities.

“With 1 in 12 Americans now living in Texas, and our state at the leading edge of a profound demographic shift, a snapshot of economic opportunity in Texas is a window into the future of our country,” says Don Baylor, senior policy analyst for the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, about the CFED findings.